This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Fords' enemy list grows longer

Mayor, councillor continue to publicly call out wide swath of people over "bias."

Mayor Rob Ford and his brother Doug, right, appear on a radio show in Toronto on Nov. 3. On that show they attacked Police Chief Bill Blair - a position Doug continued on Tuesday. (Mark Blinch / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The Ford brothers’ list of people alleged to be trying to destroy the mayor has grown rapidly since police announced last week that they have a video which appears to show Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine.

Rob and Doug Ford have taken to the airwaves and the corridors of power, publicly naming several different individuals and organizations that they say are out to get the mayor, or have a bias against him. Coun. Doug Ford has also called on individuals to step down from their positions.

Here’s a breakdown of who has made the Fords’ enemy list and why.

Police Chief Bill Blair

After stints in drug enforcement, organized crime and major criminal investigations, Blair was appointed head of the Toronto Police Service in 2005.

Those comments show the chief has a bias against the mayor, Doug Ford said Tuesday. Ford also called for a probe into the chief, and said Blair should step down from his position while the investigation is underway.

Andy Pringle

A respected businessman and John Tory’s chief of staff, Pringle was appointed to the Toronto Police Services Board in 2011. The Fords pushed for his appointment, according to a secret list of administration picks obtained by the Star last year.

Doug Ford called for Pringle to step down from the board Tuesday, saying a fishing trip Pringle and Blair took together showed a “conflict of interest.” The apparent friendship means Pringle cannot effectively provide oversight of Blair, Ford said.

Katie Simpson

The CP24 reporter has been closely following all things Ford related. But Doug Ford seems to be less than pleased with Simpson’s reporting. In an interview on AM640 Monday, Ford accused Simpson of wanting to “kill” his brother, and the councillor described the journalist as “vicious” when speaking to a Ryerson journalism class Tuesday afternoon.

Joe Warmington

A long-standing friendly relationship between the Sun columnist and the mayor apparently broke down last month when Warmington wrote a column critiquing Ford. Ford then called Warmington on a Sunday evening, “fuming, profane and belligerent,” Warmington wrote the next day.

Robyn Doolittle

The Star’s Doolittle has drawn much ire from the Fords during her time covering city hall. Things have not been any friendlier between the brothers and the reporter since she wrote about watching the video where Rob Ford appears to smoke crack cocaine. Doug Ford said on his radio show in July that Doolittle needs counselling, and accused her of stalking his friends and family.

Daniel Dale

The Star’s current city hall bureau chief was involved in a Ford controversy far before there were ever whisperings of a drug scandal.

Rob Ford called police in May 2012, alleging Dale was spying on him and his family. Dale said he was doing research for a story, and that Ford charged at him “in a puncher’s stance.” Ford denied threatening Dale.

The Toronto Star

As the largest newspaper in Canada, the Star has sought for more than a century to hold those in power to account.

In May, the Star the existence of a video that appears to show the mayor smoking crack cocaine. Ford said the allegations were ridiculous and that the Star was going after him.

Doug Ford told a journalism class at Ryerson Tuesday that the Star is the “National Enquirer of the north.”

“(The Star) have been bullies,” he said. “They have influenced decisions at the highest level in this province.”

The executive committee

Long seen as the mayor’s inner circle, the 12 member committee garnered strong words from Rob Ford this week after some members publicly called for him to take a leave of absence.

The Ward 20 (Trinity-Spadina) councilor has been described as “the thorn in Rob Ford’s side.” Vaughan has been a staunch critic of the Fords at nearly every turn, and opposed projects that the brothers championed, such the casino plan.

Shelley Carroll

The left-leaning Ward 33 (Don Valley East) councillor has criticized the mayor on everything from his pitch to put splash pads in Nathan Phillips Square, to his executive committee voting down tighter rules for lobbyists. Carroll was one of the first councillors to call for Ford to take a leave of absence following last week’s police press conference.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com